Reclamation Society

3342 N. 5th Street
Led by Stephanie Phillips

It was a rainy afternoon in August 2007, when a number of neighborhood activists gathered at the Reclamation Society’s garden in a vacant lot at 3342 N. 5th Street. Stephanie Phillips, gracious hostess, showed off the neatly planted raised bed gardens, planted with a variety of vegetables and flowers. The beds are made from lumber reclaimed from a dismantled hot tub – just one of many details that underlines the group’s name and philosophy.

The group has permission from the city to use the lot season-to-season, unless and until it is purchased from the city for development. Another lot across the street to the west remains to be developed as garden.

Stephanie Phillips of the Reclamation Society has taken leadership on this project, with help from Mary Beth Driscoll of Groundwork Milwaukee, neighboring homeowners, the Green Initiative of the Harambee North Planning Group, Riverwork Development Corporation, and UW-Extension Farming Project.

This garden has been a focal point for discussions and planning by a number of area groups and individuals. Information for this writing was gathered at a meeting of area activists called by James Godsil to discuss this and other urban farming projects.

Food and seeds were harvested throughout the fall season from this garden by neighbors and members of the Reclamation Society. As winter sets in, plans for next year’s gardens are already in the works.

For more information, contact Stephanie Phillips at .